The question is: what is the question? This summer has seen a bumper crop of books all ostensibly addressing the problems of the British monarchy. The blurbs have been in technicolour: 'the most significant work ever written on the House of Windsor', 'explosive and electrifying', 'destined to ruffle a lot of feathers', 'sensational', and 'the best-kept publishing secret of the year'. Few wanted to know it, however. Now, as autumn approaches, many of these volumes are on the remaindered shelves, and some have been pulped. So what are they for? And what did they mean?

LRB 19 August 1993 | PDF Download